GI Joe R.T.V. (Rough Terrain Vehicle)

thingiverse

The GI Joe Rough Terrain Vehicle (RTV) is back, recreated from comic book issues 6 and 7! This vehicle was designed to be dropped by parachute into smaller pieces, then assembled by hand in the field. Made of foam and aluminum, it's said that six people can assemble it in just 30 minutes - the Joe team did it in a record-breaking 23 minutes. If you want to simulate the "parachute drop," I've made CAD files for individual pieces, including wheels without tires and rear bed sections. But if you're short on time or prefer a quicker assembly process, you can skip these and go straight to the assembled vehicle. The model was a challenge due to inconsistent size and angle depictions across eight comic book panels. To overcome this lack of information, I had to improvise certain parts of the design. Despite these limitations, I'm thrilled with the final results. The file is scaled roughly to full size, as there was never an official toy produced for this vehicle. However, it's optimized for printing at 25% scale. Printing outside this range may result in either too much or too little detail. At 25% scale, my finished model weighs a surprising 140 grams - equivalent to $2.94 in material costs. This file is free to download, but please note that it's listed as non-commercial due to its origins from intellectual property I don't own. As such, neither you nor I are permitted to sell physical copies of this 3D model. You're welcome (and encouraged) to print copies for personal use - "makes" are always appreciated. Lastly, I'd like to express my utmost respect and gratitude to past and present members of our Armed Forces. They're the true "Real American Heroes," and their sacrifices enable people like me to live in peace, freedom, and create these small tokens of appreciation, like this RTV model.